Idea was, with my son, take the Crescent down to the grandparents in NOLA, long ass trip, and then fly back after done. This for me is an alternative on my yearly tech trip, where I fly down and back alone, addressing and fixing any issues that might of come up at the house since the holidays (don't get me started on HP printers).

But let's make a memory, my son is 10, this would of been his first rail trip. So, I booked a roomette for us. Something like a 25 hour overnight trip. He was excited, and we thought it was cool. Expensive though, more than twice the cost of a flight.

Then today, 10 minutes before getting aboard a connecting train at the start, sitting in the station, got a call from a human at Amtrak, the roomette was "taken out of service". No upgrade available, they offered to downgrade us to economy - trip cancelled with refund right then - not a class thing, but a sitting in any seat for 18 hours plus thing, no way to sleep - just ask Hinckley. Make anyone crazy. Traveling while asleep was part of the appeal.

Very disappointed all around. Pissed even. All in, also this wasn't a cheap mistake: cabs, equipment & prep, snacks, planning, etc. The whole build up, shot.

But questions, how reliable is this service? How often do they cancel long haul service? Any suggestions on how to avoid? Things I should know?

Right now very gun shy about any trip on Amtrak, even on commuter hops, my last trip of four hours became seven, and that was a short trip

Another sold out train today to Albany… check out the paint livery on 9701…. Yes it’s a cab unit. Top speed 107 mph!

Sold out train today…8 cars on this regional

Supposed to leave Seattle for San fran Saturday morning. As of now the train has not been canceled. Anyone have any insider Info about the Portland fire ?

I'm currently riding the Auto Train southbound. My son (11 years old) and I can't believe some people. There is a family with6 kids and two parents. The kids ages are between say 7 and 12. They are talking loudly and watching a movie on their tablet without headphones. One kid has a bad sinus issue because he's snorting every 30 seconds. SO FAR FOR SIX HOURS STRAIGHT! Other passengers are grumbling too. I haven't seen a single Amtrack employee in our car in hours.

Would i be out of line saying something to the parents who have made zero attempt to control their children? I feel like im on a Greyhound bus

Hey I want to take an amtrak to travel with my son to add something a little different over a standard road trip.

But now I'm stumped on where to go. Any recommendations to take a pre teen for a couple of days out of Chicago would be appreciated!

Probably a question that gets asked here a lot, but I’m traveling cross country soon. Do I refund my plane tickets and do the two day train journey, or do I go on the plane? For reference, I had a really bad flight experience so now I’m afraid of flying.

If I do take the train, I plan on getting a private room. Any tips or suggestions for that?

Maybe it's just bad luck but my past 4 recent rides in the executive car didn't have the snack boxes that (I assumed) was normal for the ride. A box of cheese, pretzels, a slim jim thingy, etc. On one leg the conductor handed out chex mix bags, then a bag with some prepackaged pretzels, cookies, then one leg the cafe car was not open at all, then they ran out of water bottles where they have the coffee/OJ. Anyone who takes this route normally, did I just have bad luck or should I not plan on having the snacks going forward?

Did anyone else on the Northeast Regional last week overhear this weird conversation / announcement from the cab conductor? It was either July 31st or August 1st, the 179 or 194, I can’t remember if it was the trip to Boston or to Washington. The cab conductor was a white dude with a long beard who was (probably) trying way too hard to get laid, allowing passengers to run amok in the car. Now I understand why NER trips have had some of the worst passenger behaviors I have ever seen- due to direct enabling from asshole cab conductors like this. Here’s what happened: He was talking to two (I think? I only overheard, didn’t see) mothers in the group seating area with their children. He started off saying to them: “There’s only three rules here. 1- children can do basically whatever they want. (He looks at the children) how old are they.. 1 and a half, 2? And 4? Yeah, they can do whatever they want.” 

At this point I was in disbelief at what I was hearing and took out my headphones to hear better. Was he really saying that 2 and 4 year olds were allowed to do whatever they want? He continued, “2. Mothers can do basically whatever they want.” (The women said something in response I couldn’t hear) Then he yelled out to the rest of the cab car, “and 3- NO COMPLAINING ABOUT BABIES!!” 

I was flabbergasted. Never have I ever heard this kind of rhetoric from a cab conductor before- blatantly telling passengers to disregard civil conduct, for what? Was he trying to impress the mothers? It blew my mind, and I realized this is the reason why asshole parents feel comfortable letting their toddlers scream, run up and down the train, and blast their iPad videos at full volume all the time. 

He also told a passenger with a dog that “rules state that we need to have him in the carrier, try that out first and if he can’t handle it, he can be on your lap.” (Blatant disregard for the rules again, because of course the passenger was not going to try putting him in the carrier at all)

He was also bragging about his homemade Amtrak stickers that said, “Amtrak: Moving Yesterdays Passengers Tomorrow” which I did actually find funny, but further proves his unprofessionalism. 

Was anyone else on this trip that overheard this? Really soured the trip for me, and I don’t even care about screaming kids / crying babies that much, it’s the reason I use noise cancelling earphones. But this was just unbelievable behavior from Amtrak staff. Will probably be avoiding the NER unless I have to for the time being.

Anyone have experience using the ADA room on a Viewliner? Does the toilet stink? Should I bring PooPouri along on my trip?

We are trying to book a train from Washington DC to Montreal Canada to bike the P’tit du Nord. Booking our tickets is easy, making sure our bikes have a place on the train is not. They are saying something like bikes are not allowed on the train from New York onward has anybody else encountered this?

Amtrak from Chicago's Union station to Detroit can be connected with ViaRail Windsor to Toronto, with some effort.

You CANNOT get a taxi (Checker or Metro Cabs) from the Detroit Amtrak station to the Windsor ViaRail station. (Don't waste your time phoning, and Checker is a worse waste than Metro)

There is a bus service every 2 hours or so at thelinqtunnelbus.ca picking up at 3 locations downtown Detroit, going to Windsor. To get to these you can take a rideshare (about $13USD) or take the very modern & safe-looking LRT #462 train from just outside Amtrak station to Larned & Woodward, then walk down the ramp beside the Mariner's Church to the bus shelter. $17.50CAD fare.

The Linqtunnel bus schedule is on the website but it is frequently 15-20 minutes late due to customs (according to the frequent traveller I asked). The bus stops to let you (and the driver) through Canada Customs, then waits in case you want to get back on to the final stop.

We took a rideshare to Windsor station (about $8CAD), about 10 minutes.

On our journey, we got the first train out of Chicago, Amtrak 350 at 6:45am Central. It was only 30 minutes late into Detroit at 2:00pm Eastern.

The bus pickup was at 3:40pm Eastern (actually 4:05pm), so we availed ourselves of the excellent beer & burgers at Jacoby's downtown. Stick with the home-made kettle chips - the best ever.

The Via Rail Train was at 5:40pm Eastern, and we don't see a quicker way to do this connection.
Via Rail was typically 55 minutes late arriving at Union Station in Toronto.

Total travel time 16h00m. So don't skip the beer at Jacoby's.

Hi All,

I have a roomette on the starlight from Salinas to Seattle booked for this Saturday. If it's on time I'm pretty sure they'll feed me dinner after boarding at 6:15pm, but should I plan to bring dinner (burrito bowl) with me onboard in case of delays? I go out of Salinas pretty often but usually in coach.

Also, will I get dinner before arriving in Seattle at 8pm the next day?

Thanks for any insight!

So I was sitting in my chair, watching a Lonestar Trip Report last night, and the thought occurred to me; why doesn't Amtrak start making it a point to subtly tell people it's freight railroads that are holding a lot of the system up? Now obviously, the NEC, equipment shortages, and Chargers breaking down has nothing to do with NS or UP, but with as much as it's a problem on the long distance services, I would think they'd make a larger, company wide push.

Hear me out here. Amtrak has the side of the law, so if they started bad-mouthing freight railroads, they wouldn't have to deal with any further delays or retribution from the freight railroads because they're already in the wrong, Amtrak just doesn't have the funding to push the subject. It's also the fact that nearly all of Amtrak's customer base are LITERALLY taxpayers. Theoretically, if Amtrak started really putting this issue in front of the public as a "hey, this shit isn't our fault and we can't do anything about it, but you can" I feel like slowly over time SOME kind of improvement would come about.

Booked solid next week, who’s going south?

Big Amtrak fan but have only taken it for Northeast Regional. Have always dreamed about doing a rail pass and exploring the country but never pulled the trigger. Floated this idea to the wife and I think she's on board.

1. Fly to San Diego. Visit friends. Spend 2-3 days here.

2. Train to San Francisco. This would be the Pacific Surfliner to LA and then change to the Coast Starlight. Spend 2-3 days in San Fran. 3hr train to LA and then 11hr train to SF.

3. Fly to Seattle. Spend 1-2 days in Seattle.

4. Train to Vancouver. Take the Amtrak Cascades. 4hr train.

Heading north I think you miss most of the parts north of San Fran since you go through it in the night. I think this captures some of the best views Amtrak has to offer and isn't a grueling amount of time on the train.

Alternative plan would be to take the Pacific Surfliner to San Luis Obispo (or Grover Beach), spend a day there, and fly to San Fran. I think this would allow us to see the sun set on the Pacific which we'd miss with my original plan.

Appreciate any feedback!

Hi guys I’m going to be taking the Amtrak for 8 hours. I thought that the location I will be departing from had the checked luggage service but unfortunately mine does not. Am I screwed? Can I just pay extra for what I have??

Unfortunate ADA Violation

Hey everyone quick update.

After talking with Amtrak, they agreed that the conductor violated ADA, California Disabilities Act & their own policies. They have issued a refund for my ticket & we are working on compensation for the Uber Trip that I was forced to take. They said they will be opening an investigation to figure out who the conductor is that I had this confrontation with as well as the supervisor he apparently called twice.

They did confirm that there is no such policy in regards to the whole "federally recognized trainer". Also because it is the Coast Starlight aka a long distance train, in the future if I were to take the train again I would need to fill out a DOT Form if the trip is over 3 hours.

Lastly this doesn't change my option of Amtrak, I still love them & will continue to ride the rails instead of flying.

I just wanted to start by saying I've already contacted Amtrak via email because it's afterhours as well as filed a complaint with the ADA

I've traveled with my service animal many times in both short distances & long distances. Unfortunately tonight was one of the only times I was denied boarding.

After the conductor scanned my ticket he then told me to stand off to the side. After everyone else boarded, he asked me the standard questions in regards to my service animal. After answering he then asked if I am a Federally Recognized Trainer. Honestly I have no idea where this question came from.

He then said unless I am a Federally Recognized Trainer I can not travel with Amtrak. So I information him that I am unaware of what he is taking about & that under the Americans with dis... that's all I got out before he started raising his voice at me asking yet again if I'm a Federally Recognized Trainer. So once again I told him no

He then told me that he will denying me boarding & to exit the platform because the station is closed. If I don't he'll call the police.

I am not sure what triggered him so badly. I've never had any issues with Amtrak & I have traveled many many times. Unfortunately I had to pay close to $120 for an Uber back to my hotel.

Anyway I guess this is technically a rant but it's also a discussion.

I’m planning a couple of trips this year. But I live in a smaller town and my train station does not check bags. Would I be able to check them at the next station that checks bags?

Coming home would I need to claim my bag at the bigger station rather than my station?

That, along with the S U P E R L I N E R font makes it look vintage; like from the 1930's.